212 THE PRACTICAL HORSESHOER. 



on to the soft elastic tissues and tendon behind it, which 

 are much less vascular and sensitive." — American Agri- 

 culturist. 



Shoeing Chest-Foundered Horses. 



Let such a chest foundered horse go barefoot, in order to 

 wear off his toes. If the heels fail to wear off so as to get 

 the fi-og- bearings sufficient to spread the heel, cut them 

 down until the frog will get its portion of the bearing. 

 When the toe wears so as to become tender on the bottom 

 put on a thin shoe for a time and let the growth continue. 

 Then take off the light shoes and let the horse go barefoot 

 again. 



The heels and frogs on such horses will never suffer with- 

 out a shoe. Just a tip, or half shoe, will be sufficient in 

 most cases. From this it will be noticed that my idea of 

 shoeing chest-foundered horses does not consist in not shoe- 

 ing them at all, but in not shoeing as much as is the usual 

 custom. Let the horse's feet have plenty of water, and let 

 the foot gradually come into natural shape and proportion, 

 with reference to amount of heel and toe, so that the joints 

 can come to a natural position. The horse's feet will then 

 graduall}^ come back under him and the so-called chest- 

 founder will gradually disappear. 



The points to be borne in mind are the water, the natural 

 shape of foot, the frog bearing, position of joints and posi- 

 tion of leg. The pastern and coffin joints are usuall3^ the 

 sufferers, aside from the contraction of shell upon the wings 

 of paddle bones, where corns usually commence. The in- 

 flammation here contracts the hoof still more and makes 

 the back cord sore. These causes lead to a long high toe 

 in proportion to the heel. This is generallj^ termed chest- 

 founder. The horse sets his feet forward, and the breast 

 appears to fall in because the shoulders are forward. — By S. S. 



